2.2.3 Word processing and DTP PORTEE

Social and ethical issues
Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of word processing and desktop publishing (DTP). These may include:
effects of DTP on the right to publish, for example, freedom of the press, free exchange of ideas
economic effects of DTP on business
intellectual property issues associated with reproduction and/or transformation of digitized text
effects of word processing and DTP on the workplace, for example, job loss, deskilling, surveillance
ergonomics/health impacts of word processing and DTP in the workplace
social impact of speech-enabled input/output.
Knowledge of technology
In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of word processing and desktop publishing, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
key terms—formatting, template, spell check, grammar check, ASCII/unicode, PDF, RTF, text
word processing versus page layout
appropriate use of templates
effective use of word processing functions to streamline production of documents
use of appropriate fonts, white space and line spacing to create output that communicates effectively

  • Key terms
    • Formatting -- the way text is set up, using properties such as font, font size, font effects, position, etc.
    • Template -- a basic set-up used to make a document based on what a general outline
    • Spell check -- a tool that allows comparison of words typed to a dictionary so as to make sure words are spelled right and to remove typographical errors
    • Grammar Check -- a tool similar to spell check that checks for grammar fallacies as opposed to spelling fallacies
    • ASCII -- a set of 255 characters that provides for basic text representation
    • Unicode -- a set of several thousand characters that provides for text representation in several languages and character sets
    • PDF -- a format of page display that is read-only for most users but is a rather universal standard to distribute documents
    • RTF -- a format of text that allows for manipulation of font, size, and other styling aspects
    • Text -- a format of text that allows only for representation of characters, not for font, size, or other stylings
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